The invention relates to the harvesting a row crops such as corn by means of tractor operated equipment. More particularly, the invention is concerned with the type of tractor operated harvesting equipment which severs the crop rows from the ground, and feeds them rearwardly for further processing, as for instance into a forage chopper.
Such row crop harvesting equipment as heretofore developed has been provided with a suitable mechanism for simultaneously severing a number of relatively adjacent crop rows from the ground and for moving the severed crop material along rearwardly and upwardly inclined feed passages into associated processing equipment. Pairs of endless conveyor belts have customarily been installed along the feed passages for moving the severed crop material therethrough. However, the mechanism for driving these conveyor belts, as heretofore developed, have not been entirely satisfactory, particularly in the matter of simplicity of construction, compactness and efficiency of operation.